MCB graduate student Hana Lee of Professor Rachel Brem’s lab
was selected as one of the 2009 recipients of The Paul and Daisy Soros
Fellowships for New Americans. The Paul
& Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans are awarded to immigrants to
the United States or children of immigrants, and are based on the candidate’s
creativity, originality, and initiative; commitment to and capacity for
accomplishment; and commitment to the values expressed in the US Constitution
and the Bill of Rights. The third

Candidates for the Bowes Research Fellowship will be presenting their work at a symposium on Thursday, April 9, 2009 from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. in 100 Genetics & Plant Biology Building (pre and post-reception in Koshland Hall Lobby).

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Ahmet Yildiz has been awarded a Sloan Research Fellowships by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. The fellowship provides $50,000 to early-career scientists who show outstanding promise.

Five MCB faculty members have been named as 2008 Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). They include
Associate Professor (Affiliated) of Genetics, Genomics and Development Steven Brenner, Howard Hughes Investigator and Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Jennifer Doudna,

Howard Hughes Investigator and
Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Robert Tjian
received a $918,000 grant from the California Institute for Regenerative
Medicine (CIRM) to develop new molecular tools and novel technologies
for high efficiency gene targeting in stem cells.

It is with regret that we announce that Professor Jeffery Winer passed away the morning of December 9 after a short illness. Professor Winer served the Department and campus
in many ways and he will be greatly missed.

Donations may be sent to the Jeffery Winer Memorial Scholarship:
University of California
Department of Molecular and Cell Biology
Jeffery Winer Memorial Scholarship Fund
142 LSA #3200
Berkeley, CA 94720-3200

Professor of Cell and Developmental Biology Randy Schekman is the 2008 recipient of the Dickson Prize in Medicine from the University of
Pittsburgh. The prize is awarded annually for "innovative, paradigm-shifting biomedical research".

The MCB Department is hosting a symposium titled "Humanity's Genes and the Human Condition" on Saturday, November 15. Additional details, including the full schedule and registration form, are available at the link below.